Search
So that Gaspard doesn’t forget that until the very end he has dignity
Gaspard is a 2-year-old little boy. He is suffering from the genetic neurodegenerative Sandhoff disease, which is gradually killing him. For Généthique, his mother Marie-Axelle, tells us of the way she accompanies him by preserving his consciousness of existing and of...
Worthy of dying… or worthy of living?
How many things have been justified in the name of dignity! Brandished by the defenders of euthanasia as well as by its opponents, the argument forces itself in and too often puts an end to the discussion. This being said, what does dignity really mean? Marianne...
An English hospital acknowledges its order not to resuscitate a man because he had Down syndrome
In Great Britain, a family has filed a complaint against the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust because it ordered not to resuscitate their son in the event of cardio-respiratory problems because of his “Down Syndrome, inability to swallow, learning...
The search for aborted foetal tissue in the United States
The use of aborted foetal tissue has generated lively debated in the United States in recent months. Today, the Nature journal is publishing an article, which it claims reveals the “truth” behind this controversial research. According to 2014 NIH[1] data,...
The first penis transplant announced in the United States
The John Hopkins University Hospital Center has given the green light for sixty or so experimental penile transplants to be carried out. According to a spokesperson for Baltimore Hospital, the first transplant will be performed “one year from now, possibly...
Genetically modified mosquitoes to eradicate malaria
British scientists at Imperial College London have succeeded in genetically modifying mosquitoes which carry malaria, making them infertile, thanks to the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technique. The purpose of their research is to eradicate the spread of malaria. The...
Belgium: 65 specialists take a stand against euthanasia for mental suffering
On Tuesday, 8 December in Belgium, where the euthanasia of an elderly woman on the grounds of depression created a scandal, sixty-five psychologists, psychiatrists and university professors published a carte blanche in the De Morgen newspaper in which they denounced...
Canada: Health specialists prepare for the arrival of abortion pill RU-486
Ever since abortion pill RU-486, Mifegymiso, was approved by Santé Canada last July, health specialists have been preparing for its market launch in January 2016. In several provinces like New Brunswick, access to abortion is still very recent. The Santé Canada...
Scientists ban embryo genome imprinting for the purposes of pregnancy
Following the International Summit on Genomic Imprinting, which was held from 1 to 3 December 2015 in Washington in the United States, scientists have unanimously declared that the technique for modifying the human embryo genome should not be applied to embryos used...
ECHR revisits the case of “selling a child through surrogacy”
The Paradiso and Campanelli versus Italy case will be examined by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights on 9 December 2015. This is the first surrogacy case to be heard before the Grand Chamber and the ruling will therefore have a significant impact....
Trials to repair the heart with patient stem cells
On Tuesday, CellProthera[1]start-up organisation announced the launch of a clinical trial in 2016 to test “innovative experimental treatment” on “fifty or so” cardiac patients. The trial, which will be carried out in France, the United Kingdom and Singapore, has...
Poland: The Government announces cessation of IVF reimbursement
The new Polish Government (elected on 25 October 2015) has “decided to terminate State funding of the in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) programme with effect from mid-2016”. Health Minister Mikolaj Radziwill announced on Tuesday that, “The in-vitro programme will be...